Communications between lawyers and their clients’ accountants or other non-legal professionals are not in themselves privileged but can be where the communication is in “furtherance of a function essential to the...more
Supreme Court of Canada Revives Correctness Test for Interpreting Standard Form Contracts -
There is a new exception to the new Canadian approach for reviewing the interpretation of contracts: a trial court’s...more
A properly-worded whole agreement clause is effective to exclude liability for innocent and negligent misrepresentations, the Alberta Court of Appeal recently held in Houle v Knelsen Sand and Gravel Ltd, 2016 ABCA 247...more
This booklet is intended as a basic guide to host liability, which is the potential for personal and corporate liability for injuries sustained by employees, clients and other persons as a result of alcohol intoxication. This...more
An internal investigation into a workplace accident was privileged, and thus protected from disclosure, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently held in Alberta v Suncor Energy Inc, 2016 ABQB 264 [Suncor]. The Court found...more
To overturn a trial court’s interpretation of a contract on appeal, it is not enough that the trial court was wrong, it must be really wrong, the Supreme Court of Canada recently affirmed in Heritage Capital Corp v Equitable...more
A purported assignment of a contract without consent and an alleged novation were ineffective, the BC Court of Appeal recently held in Barafield Realty Ltd. v. Just Energy (B.C.) Limited Partnership, 2015 BCCA 421 [Barafield]...more
An internal investigation into whistleblower allegations was privileged, thus protected from disclosure, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently held in Talisman Energy Inc v Flo-Dynamics Systems Inc, 2015 ABQB 561...more
Court Unwilling to Impose a Reasonableness Limit on Expenditures -
Exploration expenditures incurred to earn into a mining claim did not have to be reasonable, the B.C. Court of Appeal recently held in American Creek...more
Conflicting interpretations of the same statute by an administrative tribunal are unlikely to be reasonable, let alone correct, the Alberta Court of Appeal recently held in Altus Group Limited v Calgary (City), 2015 ABCA 86...more
In a precedent setting case, the Supreme Court of Canada has: (1) recognized good faith as a "general organizing principle" of Canadian contract law; and (2) recognized a new duty of "honest performance", which requires...more
A new duty of honest performance has been imposed on all Canadian contracts by the Supreme Court of Canada. The notion of a general and independent doctrine of good faith performance of contracts has historically been...more
Privilege provides special protection that exempts certain documents and other forms of communication from having to be disclosed in legal proceedings. Its protection is powerful, but it can be easily lost if the privileged...more
Establishing an operator’s gross negligence requires “a degree of intentionality”, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently held in Bernum Petroleum Ltd v Birch Lake Energy Inc, 2014 ABQB 652 [Bernum]....more
Litigation privilege applies to regulatory proceedings where the consequences of the proceedings are significant, and the privilege cannot be excluded by statute without express and clear language, the Alberta Court of Appeal...more
Effecting a cultural shift, a new summary judgment test has been embraced by the Alberta Court of Appeal in Windsor v Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, 2014 ABCA 108 [Windsor]. This new test will make it easier to obtain summary...more
There may be a sign that last year’s dire consequences for a freehold oil and gas lessee who does not quickly respond to a default notice by commencing legal proceedings may be moderating somewhat, at least in certain...more
Uninteded tax consequences of a contract can be avoided by rectification, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Québec v Services Environnementaux AES inc., 2013 SCC 65 (AES).
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A royalty holder must make reasonable inquires to confirm that a royalty has been properly paid and will be limited to a two-year recovery if not, the Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled in Canadian Natural Resources Limited v...more
A recent decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal has opened the door for defendants in contract cases to implicate other would-be contract-breakers, thereby potentially reducing the defendants’ exposure to liability while...more
This guide to solicitor-client privilege and litigation privilege does not replace specific legal advice.
Legal Privilege -
Privilege provides special protection that exempts certain documents and other forms...more
When negotiating contracts with international parties, counsel should consider how their clients would, if necessary, serve judicial documents on counterparties based outside of Canada. The Hague Convention on the Service...more
A new Alberta Court Rule seeks to avoid an unfortunate implication that courts have read into the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. Effective July...more
Lack of “imminent risk” does not bar recovery for economic loss arising from a dangerously defective structure, the Alberta Court of Appeal recently held. Typically, courts are reluctant to award lost profits or other...more
The Ontario Court of Appeal has confirmed the proper reading of the latest Alberta Court of Appeal decision on service ex juris under Alberta law, which greatly complicates serving legal documents outside of Canada. In our...more